Geez Rhino,if I'd have known your wife was gonna be gone a coupla nites I'd have cut work and wrangled myself an invitation to your shack, you know, to help you grade some papers or somethin',lol! This talk about tones has re-invigorated me to do more exploring with all the elements of playing an instrument: not just tone (which is a huge environment by itself),but rhythm,phrasing,volume dynamics,melody,pitch,etc. Maybe I'm even more fired up today 'cuz my jam meets again tonite. Havin' a jam I can go to every week,instead of hit & miss, is really nice. A week ain't that long; these jams are close enough together to really hone my chops in a band setting.

Hey Bubba, you know you're always welcome. Only takes 20 minutes or so to heat up the sauna! And once the music/rec room is finished you'll have a whole set-up waiting and ready: PA, guitars and amps, drums (I got the missus a set of cocktail drums for Valentine's to go with her congas). We figured there were no open mics in our vicinity, so why not have our own. We'll see how long it takes to get a noise complaint. Hmmm, maybe I should put in a Marshall stack after all.

Of course, it'll be a school-year thing, because nothing's likely to keep us off the boat during the summer.

Jeff!!you hit da nail on the Head!!! Rythym dynamics are the most important!! Iam pulling my hair out tryin ta find a rythym player, Every Guitar player wants to be SRV!!! and have all the licks but ask em to catch the rythym line!!!GEZZZZZ!! stutter pop bend stutter pop!!!! they can't play a smooth rythym line fer crap!!! AND if you ain't got a groove you ain't got squat!! I would take a simple rythym player over a lead player anyday!! WHY!! cuz the listener is wantin to catch the rythym and tap there foot!! thats what attracks a listener!! the lead lines are there as a exciter to the rythym of the song, Listen to some BB,forget his Leads listen to the background, the rythym is so simple and straight forward, simple minors and 7ths, now it bbs leads that fills it in, now if you had a busy rythym sect and BB man you get to confusin!!! I get more comments and attaboys when I play solo, mainly Rythym, and vocals and make more money,WHY because my solo gig is so simple and I got full control over rythym,Dynamics, and the passion And hey!! Dynamics means bursts of volumn at times as well, Tone doesen't mean it can't be loud too!! there is a place for everything!!!

601, I'm wicha on the rhythm thing. I spent alotta time just foolin' around with rhythm chucks on harp after I got introduced to Sonny Terry's harp playin', and as Delbert McClinton says, "He who rules rhythm, rules the crowd." I was listenin' to some old Talking Heads music in my CD player today, and there was a band with a helluva rhythm player. Of course,their brand of punk was during part of the disco era and both those forms of music took alotta their rhythm guitar cues from blues, as far as adding 9ths,etc. to standard blues patterns that would normally use 7ths. In that respect, punk and funk were really not far apart from each other (only one letter,lol). A good rhythm guitar player will always have a job, ain't dat the truth.

Rhythm is what people tap their foot to.
It's what keeps 'em in their seats drinking or on the floor dancing.

Too bad you and I aren't neighbors 601 because, I would be more than content to jam on the rhythm all day while you put that Marshall thru it's paces.
If you and I lived in the same town, you'd have your guitar player.

Maybe one day Grady!!!! Thats why I really enjoy workin in the studio by myself, I can lay down a rythym line,with the phrasing,and Dynamics,and passion that I want, then I can add some lead licks that will validate what the rythym is saying,and then I can add other sounds and everything is telling the same story!! The way I have been sounding Lately trying to get a band put together, is like a bunch of people all talkin at the same time telling a different tale!! OH WELL!! Don't mean ta dump on everyone,but its frustrating!! Like I said, You can leave your lead player at home,and have a great gig with the rythym section, but try leavin your rythym section at Home!!!! This Thurs evening I have a guitar player droppin in to work with me ,I have talked with him in depth about what I want and he sez he can provide that, His Name is Brad, so me and my sax player ,Lil Mac, and brad, will jam and see,